expenses incidental to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

"(c) UNITED STATES VALUE.-The United States value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, at which such or similar merchandise is freely sold or offered for sale in the principal market of the United States for domestic consumption, packed ready for delivery, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, with allowances made for

"(1) any commission paid or agreed to be paid on merchandise secured otherwise than by purchase; or, on merchandise secured by purchase or agreement to purchase, the addition for profit and general expenses usually made by sellers in such market on imported merchandise of the same class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement;

"(2) the usual costs of transportation and insurance and other usual expenses from the place of shipment to the place of delivery, not including any expense provided for in (1); and

"(3) the ordinary customs duties and Federal taxes estimated to be payable on such or similar merchandise by reason of its importation or for which vendors at wholesale in the United States are ordinarily liable.

"If such or similar merchandise was not so sold or offered at the time of exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, the United States value shall be ascertained or estimated, subject to the foregoing specifications of this subsection, from the price at which such or similar merchandise is freely sold or offered for sale at the earliest date after such time of exportation but before the expiration of ninety days after the importation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement.

"(d) COMPARATIVE VALUE.-The comparative value of imported merchandise shall be the equivalent of the export value as nearly as such equivalent may be ascertained or estimated on the basis of the export or United States value of other merchandise from the same country which is comparable in construction and use with the merchandise undergoing appraisement, with appropriate adjustments for differences in size, material, construction, texture, or other differences. "(e) CONSTRUCTED VALUE.-The constructed value of imported merchandise shall be the sum of-

"(1) the cost of materials and of fabrication or other processing of any kind employed in producing such or similar merchandise, at a time preceding the date of exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement which would ordinarily permit the production of that particular merchandise in the ordinary course of business;

*(2) an addition for general expenses and profit equal to that which producers in the country of production whose products are exported to the United States usually add in sales, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, of merchandise of the same general class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement; and

"(3) the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other charges and expenses incidental to placing the merchandise undergoing appraisement in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

"(f) AMERICAN SELLING PRICE.-The American selling price of any article manufactured or produced in the United States shall be the price, including the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature and all other charges and expenses incident to placing the merchandise in condition packed ready for delivery, at which such article is freely sold or offered for sale for domestic consumption in the principal market of the United States, in the ordinary course of trade and in the usual wholesale quantities, or the price that the manufacturer, producer, or owner would have received or was willing to receive for such merchandise when sold for domestic consumption in the ordinary course of trade and in the usual wholesale quantities, at the time of exportation of the imported article.

"(g) TAXES.-The value of imported merchandise ascertained or estimated in accordance with this section shall not include the amount of any internal tax, applicable within the country of origin or exportation, from which the merchandise undergoing appraisement has been exempted or has been or will be relieved by means of refund.

"(h) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively indicated:

"(1) Freely sold or offered for sale'-sold or offered to all purchasers at wholesale without restrictions as to the disposition or use of the merchandise by the purchaser, except restrictions as to such disposition or use which (A) are imposed or required by law, or (B) limit the price at which or the territory in which the merchandise may be resold, or (C) do not substantially affect the value of the merchandise to usual purchasers at wholesale.

"(2) Ordinary course of trade'-the conditions and practices which, for a reasonable time prior to the exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, have been normal in the trade under consideration with respect to merchandise of the same class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement.

"(3) 'Purchasers at wholesale'-purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities for industrial use or for resale otherwise than at retail; or, if there are no such purchasers, then all other purchasers for resale who buy in the usual wholesale quantities; or, if there are no purchasers in either of the foregoing categories, then all other purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities.

"(4) Such or similar merchandise'-the merchandise undergoing ap praisement shall be considered 'such' merchandise, and other merchandise shall be considered 'such' merchandise if

"(A) it is identical in physical characteristics and was produced in the same country by the same person, or

"(B) when no value meeting the requirements of the definition of value under consideration can be ascertained or estimated under (A), the merchandise is identical in physical characteristics and was produced by another person in the same country.

Merchandise shall be considered 'similar' to the merchandise undergoing appraisement if it is not within the foregoing definition of 'such' merchandise but

"(C) it was produced in the same country as the merchandise undergoing appraisement, by the same person, of like materials, is used for the same purpose, and is of approximately equal commercial value, or "(D) when no value meeting the requirements of the definition of value under consideration can be ascertained or estimated under (C), the merchandise is correspondingly similar and was produced by another person in the same country.

"(5) Usual wholesale quantities'-the quantities usually sold in the class of transactions in which the greater aggregate quantity of the 'such or similar merchandise,' in respect of which value is being ascertained or estimated, is sold in the market under consideration."

(b) Paragraph 27 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 27 (c)), is amended by changing "subdivision (g)" to "subdivision (f)" and by changing "subdivision (e)" to "sbdivision (c)."

(c) Paragraph 28 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 28 (c)), is amended by changing "subdivision (g)" to "subdivision (f)" and by changing "subdivision (e)" to "subdivision (c).”

(d) Section 336 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1336 (b)), is amended by changing "section 402 (g)" to "section 402 (f).”

SIGNING AND DELIVERY OF MANIFESTS

SEC. 14. Section 431 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1431) is amended by designating the matter now therein as subsection (a) and by adding a new subsection to read as follows:

"(b) Whenever a manifest of articles or persons on board an aircraft is required for customs purposes to be signed, or produced or delivered to a customs officer, the manifest may be signed, produced, or delivered by the pilot or person in charge of the aircraft, or by any other authorized agent of the owner or operator of the aircraft, subject to such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. If any irregularity of omission or commission occurs in any way in respect of any such manifest, the owner or operator of the aircraft shall be liable for any fine or penalty prescribed by law in respect of such irregularity."

CERTIFIED INVOICES AND INFORMAL ENTRIES

SEC. 15. (a) Section 482 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1482 (a)) is amended by substituting "required pursuant to section

-484 (b) of this Act to be certified" for "covering merchandise exceeding $100 in value" in the first clause.

(b) Section 498 (a) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1498 (a) (1)) is amended to read as follows:

"(1) Merchandise, imported in the mails or otherwise, when the aggregate value of the shipment does not exceed such amount, not greater than $250, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall specify in the regulations, and the specified amount may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions;".

(e) Section 48 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, see. 1498 (a)) is further amended by deleting the word "and" at the end of subdivision (10); by deleting the period at the end of subdivision (11) and substituting therefor“; and”; and by adding after subdivision (11) a new subdivision to read as follows:

"(12) Merchandise within the provisions of paragraph 1631 of this Act."

VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS

SEC. 16. Section 486 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1486) is amended by changing the caption to read "ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS-VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS" and by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

"(d) The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulation prescribe that any document required by any law administered by the Customs Service to be under oath may be verified by a written declaration in such form as he shall prescribe, such declaration to be in lieu of the oath otherwise required."

AMENDMENT OF ENTRIES AND DUTIES ON UNDERVALUATION

SEC. 17. (a) Section 487 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1487) is amended by deleting thereform ", or at any time before the invoice or the merchandise has come under the observation of the appraiser for the purpose of appraisement,".

(b) Section 489 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1489) is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 489. UNDERVALUATION-UNAUTHENTIC CLAIM OF ANTIQUITY. "(a) If the final appraised value of any article of imported merchandise subject to an ad valorem rate of duty or to a duty based upon or regulated in any manner by the value thereof shall exceed the entered value, and if the consignee shall have failed to furnish the appraiser, before that officer has signed his report of value to the collector, all information required by customs officers which is relevant to the value of the merchandise and available to him at the time of entry or within a reasonable time thereafter, and all such information that is so available to the person, if any, in whose behalf the entry was made, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, in addition to any other duties imposed by law on such merchandise, a special duty of 1 per centum of the total final appraised value thereof for each 1 per centum that such final appraised value exceeds the value declared in the entry. Such special duty shall apply only to the particular article or articles in each invoice that are so advanced in value upon final appraisement, and shall not be imposed upon any article upon which the amount of duty imposed by law on account of the final appraised value does not exceed the amount of duty that would have been imposed if the final appraised value had not exceeded the entered value.

"(b) The liquidation in which such special duty is assessed shall be subject to the protest and review procedure provided for in sections 514 and 515 of this Act, but such special duty shall not be remitted nor the payment thereof in any way avoided except upon an administrative decision under section 515 that the special duties were erroneously assessed or upon a finding by the United States Customs Court, after due assignment and determination pursuant to section 515, and under such rules as the Court may prescribe, that the entry of the merchandise at a less value than its final appraised value was without any culpable negligence or intention to conceal or misrepresent the facts of the case or to deceive the appraiser as to the value of the merchandise.

"(c) The special duty imposed by subsection (a) shall not be construed to be penal. It shall not be refunded by reason of exportation of the merchandise, nor shall it be subject to the benefit of drawback. All special or additional duties, penalties, or forfeitures applicable to merchandise entered in connection with a

certified invoice shall be applicable alike to merchandise entered in connection with a seller's or shipper's invoice or a statement in the form of an invoice. "(d) Furniture described in paragraph 1811 of section 201 of this Act shall enter the United States at ports which shall be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for this purpose. If any article described in said paragraph 1811 and imported for sale is rejected as unauthentic in respect to the antiquity claimed as a basis for free entry, there shall be imposed, collected, and paid on such article, unless exported under customs supervision, a duty of 25 per centum of the value of such article in addition to any other duty imposed by law upon such article."

(c) Section 501 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, Supp. II, title 19, sec. 1561), is further amended by changing the period at the end of the first sentence to a comma and by inserting thereafter "or (3) in any case, if the consignee, his agent, or his attorney requests such notice in writing before appraisement, setting forth a substantial reason or reasons for requesting the notice.", and by deleting the third sentence of the section.

(d) Section 503 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1503) is amended by deleting "the entered value or" and ", whichever is higher" from subsection (a), by deleting subsection (b), and by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b).

(e) The Act of July 12, 1932 (ch. 473, 47 Stat. 657; U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1503a), is repealed.

(f) Section 562 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1562), is further amended by changing the third sentence to read as follows: "The basis for the assessment of duties on such merchandise so withdrawn for consumption shall be the adjusted final appraised value, and if the rate of duty is based upon or regulated in any manner by the value of the merchandise, such rate shall be based upon or regulated by such adjusted final appraised value."

COMMINGLED MERCHANDISE

SEC. 18. Section 508 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 19,. sec. 1508) is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 508. COMMINGLING OF GOODS.

"(a) Whenever dutiable merchandise and merchandise which is free of duty or merchandise subject to different rates of duty are so packed together or mingled that the quantity or value of each class of such merchandise cannot be readily ascertained by the customs officers (without physical segregation of the shipment or the contents of any entire package thereof), by one or more of the following means: (1) Examination of a representative sample, (2) occasional verification of packing lists or other documents filed at the time of entry, or (3) evidence showing performance of commercial settlement tests generally accepted in the trade and filed in such time and manner as may be prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, and if the consignee or his agent shall not segregate the merchandise pursuant to subsection (b), then the whole of such merchandise shall be subject to the highest rate of duty applicable to any part thereof.

"(b) Every segregation of merchandise made pursuant to this section shall be accomplished by the consignee or his agent at the risk and expense of the consignee within twenty days after the date of personal delivery or mailing by the collector of written notice to the consignee that the merchandise is commingled. Every such segregation shall be accomplished under customs supervision, and the compensation and expenses of the supervising customs officers shall be reimbursed to the Government by the consignee under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe.

"(c) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply with respect to any part of a shipment if the consignee or his agent shall furnish to the collector, in such time and manner as may be prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, satisfactory proof (1) that such part (A) is commercially negligible, (B) is not capable of segregation without excessive cost, and (C) will not be segregated prior to its use in a manufacturing process or otherwise, and (2) that the commingling was not intended to avoid the payment of lawful duties or any part thereof. Any merchandise with respect to which such proof is furnished shall be considered for all customs purposes as a part of the merchandise, subject to the next lower rate of duty (including a free rate), with which it is commingled."

CORRECTION OF ERRORS AND MISTAKES

SEC. 19. Section 520 (c) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (U. S. C.,. 1946 edition, title 19, sec. 1520 (c) (1)), is further amended to read as follows:

"(1) A clerical error, mistake of fact, or other inadvertence not amounting to an error in the construction of a law, adverse to the importer and manifest from the record or established by documentary evidence, in any entry, liquidation, appraisement, or other customs transaction, when the error, mistake, or inadvertence is brought to the attention of the customs service within one year after the date of entry, appraisement, or transaction, or within sixty days after liquidation or exaction when the liquidation or exaction is made more than ten months after the date of the entry, appraisement, or transaction; or"

CONVERSION OF CURRENCY

SEC. 20. (a) Section 25 of the Act of August 27, 1894, as amended and reenacted (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 31, sec. 372 (a)), is repealed, and section 522 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (U. S. C., 1946 edition, title 31, sec. 372) is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 522. CONVERSION OF CURRENCY.

"(a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall keep current a published list of the par values, expressed in United States dollars, of the several foreign currencies maintained pursuant to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, or pursuant to any other international agreement to which the United States is a party. For the purposes of all provisions of the customs laws, whenever it is necessary to convert into an amount expressed in currency of the United States any amount expressed in a foreign currency for which such a par value was maintained for the date as of which the value or cost requiring conversion is to be determined, such conversion, except as specified in subsection (d), shall be made at such par value.

"(b) If no such par value was so maintained for such date, the conversion shall be made at the buying rate for the foreign currency in the New York market at noon on the date as of which the value or cost requiring conversion is to be determined, or, if banks are generally closed on such date in New York City, then the buying rate at noon on the last preceding business day. For the purposes of this subsection, such buying rate shall be the buying rate for cable transfers payable in the foreign currency in which the amount to be converted is expressed, and shall be determined by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and certified to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall make it public at such times and to such extent as he shall deem necessary. In ascertaining such buying rate, such Federal Reserve bank may in its discretion (1) take into consideration the last ascertainable transactions and quotations, whether direct or through exchange of other currencies, and (2) if there is no market buying rate for such cable transfers, calculate such rate from actual transactions and quotations in demand or time bills of exchange or from the last ascertainable transactions and quotations outside the United States in or for exchange payable in United States currency or other currency.

“(c) If, pursuant to subsection (b), the Federal Reserve Bank of New York certifies more than one rate of exchange for a particular foreign currency for any date the conversion for customs purposes of amounts expressed in that currency for that date shall be made by applying the applicable rate or rates so certified which reflect effectively the value of that foreign currency in commercial transactions.

“(d) When, apart from normal variation between buying and selling rates, there are one or more rates of exchange in addition to the par value for any foreign currency listed pursuant to subsection (a), the list shall so indicate. When rules governing the conversion of such foreign currencies have been formulated pursuant to an international agreement to which the United States is a party, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations in conformity with such rules, and the conversion for customs purposes of amounts expressed in such currencies into amounts expressed in currency of the United States shall thereafter be in accordance with such regulations so long as they are in effect. If no regulations are in effect and applicable to the conversion of such a currency, one or more rates of exchange in addition to the par value may be certified 98600-52-2